Cost Analysis

BIOMETRICS COMPARISON, FINGERPRINT SCANNERS

IN RECENT YEARS, BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS AND FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION SYSTEMS IN PARTICULAR HAVE BEEN WIDELY ADOPTED BY BOTH GOVERNMENT AS WELL AS PRIVATE OUTFITS. GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE NATIONS HAVE BEEN USING THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PURPOSES LIKE CIVIL IDENTITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, BORDER CONTROL, ACCESS CONTROL, EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION, ATTENDANCE, ETC. BUSINESS SETUPS HAVE BEEN USING IT TO SAVE TIME BY STREAMLINING VARIOUS PROCESSES LIKE EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION,PHYSICAL AND LOGICAL ACCESS CONTROL, USER AUTHENTICATION, SAFEGUARDING CLOUD COMMUNICATION, ETC. BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN EMBRACED BY ORGANIZATIONS OF ALL SIZES AND SHAPES REGARDLESS THEIR INDUSTRY TYPE AND VERTICAL. AVAILABILITY OF FINGERPRINT SENSORS IN AFFORDABLE MOBILE DEVICES AND GOVERNMENT NATIONAL ID PROGRAMS HAVE PARTICULARLY BROUGHT BIOMETRICS TO COMMON MAN AND HAVE INCREASED AWARENESS AS WELL AS ACCEPTANCE. BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS ARE ALSO GETTING MORE AND MORE INEXPENSIVE DUE TO WIDESPREAD IMPLEMENTATION AND INCREASING RATE OF ADOPTION.

 EVOLUTION OF BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS OVER GENERATIONS

Early generations of biometric devices were not as efficient as modern ones. They were bulky, heavy and required supervision during operation. They were also not as fast as current devices, and required calibration for accuracy. PC integration was not available in first generation biometric devices and usage was limited to law enforcement applications. Second generation of biometric devices brought some improvements over first generation but were still expensive and had high FRR and/or FAR. Finger preparation was also required prior to scan as sensors were not as technologically advance as modern sensors. Only optical sensors were available in recognition systems, other sensing methods were either unavailable or under development. For second generation biometric systems, applications were limited to high security computing in vertical applications and building access control

Image: Two different types of modern fingerprint scanners. Left: USB Fingerprint scanner requires a PC or smartphone with supporting application to work. Right: Commonly used for access control, can scan and store many templates and transactions independently, can connect to a PC or network to communicate and export biometric data.

Current generation of biometric systems are available with sensors leveraging different techniques like capacitance, thermal, etc. to read fingerprints. They come with ability to detect liveness and do not require manual calibration. Current biometric recognition systems are considerably faster than earlier generations. They have SDKs available for PCs and come with encryption support. Mass production induced by increasing adoption rate has not only slashed prices of biometric systems, but also encouraged their usage in mainstream identification and authentication methods. Now billions of people use biometric identification and authentication in some or other way on a daily basis. From unlocking doors or unlocking phones, biometrics is always at work.

Increasing adoption rate – decreasing prices

Mass production cuts down prices, and that is what exactly happening with biometric recognition systems right now. Increasing numbers of implementation made mass production of biometric systems imperative and slashed prices. A biometric system’s price may depend on factors like brand, certifications, waterproofing, type of sensor, etc. A small USB fingerprint scanner can cost as little as $50 and a sophisticated ten finger scanner with live finger detection ability can cost $2500 as well. Increasing production and completion are expected to lower the prices further. Average selling price of global mobile fingerprint sensor volumes is estimated to be dropped to $2 per unit in 2020 which was as high as $5.5 in 2014.

Image: Global Fingerprint sensor volume vs. ASP from year 2014 to 2020 (Source: Carnegie Research)

Increasing adoption has helped bring down cost of biometric devices. Factors like economy of scale, increasing production and electronic components getting cheaper, have helped biometric systems to become affordable for small business and even for individual applications. Slashing prices are particularly evident in case of fingerprint scanners. Earlier, only high end or flagship mobile phones were equipped with fingerprint sensors, but now even a $100 smartphone offer a capacitive fingerprint sensor. Fingerprint recognition systems, which were earlier used only in high security facilities or restricted areas, are now commonly seen everywhere. Let it be office doors, server rooms, schools, banks, POS, etc., fingerprint scanners have made their way to everyday life. Due to mass production, building blocks of biometric systems are getting cheaper and new entrants are offering very competitive prices. Technological enhancements and introduction of new hardware also slash prices of previous iterations.

There are various elements to consider before choosing any modality to employ for a biometric application. Level of security required, cost of the biometric system, return on investment, etc., are some of the elements that may become deciding factor in employing a biometric recognition method.

Following table compares different aspects like accuracy, cost, template size, stability and level of security of common biometric recognition methods:

Biometrics Type	Accuracy	Cost	Size of Template	Long Term Stability	Security Level
Facial Recognition	Low	High	Large	Low	Low
Iris Scan	High	High	Small	Medium	Medium
Fingerprint Recognition	Medium	Low	Small	Low	Low
Finger Vein	High	Medium	Medium	High	High
Voice Recognition	Low	Medium	Small	Low	Low
Retina Scan	High	High	Medium	High	High